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Little Sprouts in Dedham determined safe to re-occupy on Monday

By WickedLocal

A Dedham, Massachusetts daycare was evacuated Friday morning after people inside reported hearing strange noises. Engineers were examining the structual integrity of the roof and other parts of the building.
A Dedham, Massachusetts daycare was evacuated Friday morning after people inside reported hearing strange noises. Engineers were examining the structual integrity of the roof and other parts of the building.
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Little Sprouts in Dedham determined safe to re-occupy on Monday
By WickedLocal
A day care center evacuated Friday morning has been determined safe to re-occupy, following a thorough inspection of the building, our news partners at WickedLocal reported Saturday.At Little Sprouts Daycare on High Street, an evacuation was ordered at approximately 11 a.m. after staff heard banging noises in the ceiling, according to Dedham Fire Chief William Spillane. When firefighters arrived, he said 88 children being cared for had been brought outside by the staff.No one was reported injured."There's an area on the roof with 2 to 3 inches of ice directly above where the noises were heard," he said.Spillane said the cause of the noise was likely the ice on the roof cracking as the temperature rose. As of Friday, the building remained empty.In an email from Superintendent of Schools Michael Welch, he said that Facilities Director Denise Moroney has confirmed that Fred Cowen of Cowen Associates, Consulting Structural Engineers, inspected the school roof Friday afternoon."After the inspection, Mr. Cowen confirmed that it is safe to re-occupy the school on Monday morning after today's concerns about the roof," said Welch. "Work crews will be on the roof this weekend to perform mitigation work on any remaining snow and/or ice."According to Welch, firefighters climbed onto the roof and building inspector Ken Cimeno and Moroney entered the building to look for signs of structural stress or other problems."The majority of the snow on the roof had previously been removed but some remaining snow had recently melted and hardened into ice about two to three inches thick adjacent to roof drains in the area above the classroom where the original noise was heard," said Welch. "An inspection of the occupied portion of the building revealed no signs of structural stress."Little Sprouts Dedham is a private day care and pre-school organization that leases six classrooms in the former Dexter Elementary School at 1100 High St.  

A day care center evacuated Friday morning has been determined safe to re-occupy, following a thorough inspection of the building, our news partners at WickedLocal reported Saturday.

At Little Sprouts Daycare on High Street, an evacuation was ordered at approximately 11 a.m. after staff heard banging noises in the ceiling, according to Dedham Fire Chief William Spillane. When firefighters arrived, he said 88 children being cared for had been brought outside by the staff.

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No one was reported injured.

"There's an area on the roof with 2 to 3 inches of ice directly above where the noises were heard," he said.

Spillane said the cause of the noise was likely the ice on the roof cracking as the temperature rose. As of Friday, the building remained empty.

In an email from Superintendent of Schools Michael Welch, he said that Facilities Director Denise Moroney has confirmed that Fred Cowen of Cowen Associates, Consulting Structural Engineers, inspected the school roof Friday afternoon.

"After the inspection, Mr. Cowen confirmed that it is safe to re-occupy the school on Monday morning after today's concerns about the roof," said Welch. "Work crews will be on the roof this weekend to perform mitigation work on any remaining snow and/or ice."

According to Welch, firefighters climbed onto the roof and building inspector Ken Cimeno and Moroney entered the building to look for signs of structural stress or other problems.

"The majority of the snow on the roof had previously been removed but some remaining snow had recently melted and hardened into ice about two to three inches thick adjacent to roof drains in the area above the classroom where the original noise was heard," said Welch. "An inspection of the occupied portion of the building revealed no signs of structural stress."

Little Sprouts Dedham is a private day care and pre-school organization that leases six classrooms in the former Dexter Elementary School at 1100 High St.